Mayor of London presses on with Bakerloo Line's Lewisham extension design work

Transport for London has formally hired two companies to start on the design of its five-mile southern extension of the Bakerloo Line.

Construction consultant AECOM and architect Weston Williamson & Partners (WWP) are to come up with a feasibility study within eight months for the line - from the Bakerloo’s present limit at Elephant & Castle to Lewisham, with new intermediate stations at Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, and New Cross Gate.

This will allow London Mayor Sadiq Khan to step up the pressure on the new government to give approval for the seven-year construction programme.

The scheme has been on the Line stocks for the last decade and a half, and the alignment has been safeguarded against development. The eventual aim is to extend further to Hayes and Beckenham Junction, although this is not part of the current study.

Both AECOM and WWP already have some expertise, having worked together on the Elizabeth line’s Paddington station, and on Crossrail 2 proposals.

In the meantime, Khan is still awaiting news on if and when he will be allowed to place an order for new stock from Siemens’ new £200 million factory in Goole (RAIL 1020), tagging on to the current Piccadilly Line contract for 94 sets (the option closes at the end of next year).

Without it, he has warned that the Bakerloo’s current 1972 fleet will be unfit for safe use within five years, and that it will only be kept running until then by robbing spares from old Piccadilly Line cars when they are withdrawn.

To pursue his ambitions of boosting South London’s economy by £1.5bn a year, Khan has proposed creating a ‘Bakerloop’ bus service alongside the route of the proposed railway, which may not realistically open until 2040. 

At the northern end, an extension of the Bakerloo Line to Watford Junction seems to be out of favour.

Earlier this year, Kahn’s re-election manifesto included a pledge “to work with a Labour government to take the necessary steps to give Londoners the services they deserve”, including Bakerloo Line investment.

The estimated cost (in 2021 figures) of the new Lewisham line is between £5.2bn and £10bn. Khan already has support from Labour-run local authorities.